Results 1 to 21 of 21

Thread: Trolling For Fun and Profit

  1. #1

    Trolling For Fun and Profit

    Maybe I should contact them. Can Swordmyth get me a reference perhaps? Is this who you use?

    https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/securit...ional-n1060781

    The same kinds of digital dirty tricks used to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and beyond are now up for sale on underground Russian forums for as little as a few thousand dollars, according to a new report from an internet security company.

    Businesses, individuals and politicians remain at risk of attack from rivals taking advantage of "disinformation for hire" services that are able to place seemingly legitimate articles on various websites and then spread links to them through networks of inauthentic social media accounts, warned researchers at Insikt Group, a unit of the Boston-area-based threat intelligence firm Recorded Future, in a report released Monday.

    And to prove it, the researchers created a fake company — then paid one Russian group $1,850 to build up its reputation and another $4,200 to tear it down. The groups were highly professional, offering responsive, polite customer service, and a menu of services. Firms charged varying prices for services, such as $8 for a social media post, $100 per 10 comments made on an article or post and $65 for contacting a media source. Each firm the researchers hired claimed to have experience working on targets in the West.

    One firm even had a public website with customer testimonials. Researchers said the disinformation firms offered the kind of professional responsiveness a company might expect from any contractor.

    "This trolling-as-a-service is the expected next step of social media influence after the success of the Internet Research Agency," said Clint Watts, a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute and NBC News security analyst, referring to the Kremlin-linked digital manipulation firm accused in Mueller indictments with disrupting the 2016 election. "There’s high demand for nefarious influence and manipulation, and trained disinformation operators who will seek higher profits."

    Politicians and companies have deployed and countered disinformation for centuries, but its reach has been vastly extended digital platforms designed to promote hot-button content and sell targeted ads. Recently businesses have been hit by fake correspondence and videos that hurt their stock prices and send executives scrambling to hire third-party firms to monitor for erroneous online headlines.

    Previously, vendors of these kinds of malicious online influence campaigns focused on Eastern Europe and Russia. But after Russia’s playbook for social media manipulation became public after the 2016 election, sellers have proved willing to pursue other geographies and deploy their services in the West, Roman Sannikov, an analyst with Recorded Future, told NBC News.

    "I don’t think social media companies have come up with an automated way to filter out this content yet," Sannikov said.

    He advised company executives to stay vigilant for false information being disseminated about their company and reach out to social media companies to get it taken down before it spreads.

    "It's really the symbiotic relationship between media and social media, where they can take an article that looks legit with a sensational headline and plop it into social to amplify the effect," Sannikov said. "It’s this feedback loop that is so dangerous."

    The researchers created a fake company and hired two firms that advertised their services on Russian-language private marketplaces. One firm was hired to build the fake company’s reputation, the other to destroy it.

    Because the company was fake with no one following it or talking about it, there was no way to measure the campaign’s impact on real conversations. Activity about a fictitious company is also less likely to trigger moderation.

    But for as little as $6,000 the researchers used the firms to plant four pre-written articles on websites, some of which were lesser known. One website was for a media organization that has been in existence for almost a century, according to the researchers, who withheld the name of the company. One of the articles carried a paid content disclaimer.

    Controlled accounts under fictitious personas then spread links to those articles on social media with hyped-up headlines. One of the firms first used more established accounts and then reposted the content with batches of newer accounts on a variety of platforms including Facebook and LinkedIn. One firm said it usually created several thousand accounts per campaign because only a few would survive being banned. The accounts also friended and followed other accounts in the target country.

    The firms were also able to create social media accounts for the fake company and drew more than 100 followers, although it was impossible to determine if any were real.

    The security firm’s findings offer fresh evidence that even after years of crackdowns and tens of thousands of account removals by social media platforms, it’s still possible to create networks of phony digital personas and operate them in concert to try to spread false information online.

    The firms claimed to use a network of editors, translators, search engine optimization specialists, hackers and journalists, some of them on retainer, as well as investigators on staff who could dig up dirt.

    One firm even offered to lodge complaints about the company for being involved in human trafficking. It also offered reputation cratering services that could set someone up at work, counter a disinformation attack, or "sink an opponent in an election."

    "If our experience is any indication, we predict that disinformation as a service will spread from a nation-state tool to one increasingly used by private individuals and entities, given how easy it is to implement," the researchers concluded.



  2. Remove this section of ads by registering.
  3. #2
    I wish I was paid to promote liberty but nobody wants to pay for that.

    I'm sure zippy will get a bonus for any recruits that respond because of this post though.
    Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

    Robert Heinlein

    Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler

    Groucho Marx

    I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.

    Linus, from the Peanuts comic

    You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith

    Alexis de Torqueville

    Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
    Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it

    A Zero Hedge comment

  4. #3
    Sorry Zippy, there are currently no openings. We will keep your contact on file in case the circumstances change. Good luck with your current endeavors.

  5. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by Swordsmyth View Post
    I wish I was paid to promote liberty but nobody wants to pay for that.

    I'm sure zippy will get a bonus for any recruits that respond because of this post though.
    I think Zippy feels he is underpaid.

  6. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by Swordsmyth View Post
    I wish I was paid to promote liberty but nobody wants to pay for that.
    We know. But the rest of us got real jobs. That way, we can promote liberty for free without getting fired.

    You three ought to try it.
    Quote Originally Posted by Swordsmyth View Post
    We believe our lying eyes...

  7. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by acptulsa View Post
    We know. But the rest of us got real jobs. That way, we can promote liberty for free without getting fired.

    You three ought to try it.
    I promote liberty for free, if you aren't paid then you oppose it for free and you ought to look into getting paid.
    Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

    Robert Heinlein

    Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler

    Groucho Marx

    I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.

    Linus, from the Peanuts comic

    You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith

    Alexis de Torqueville

    Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
    Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it

    A Zero Hedge comment

  8. #7
    $8 for a social media post, $100 per 10 comments made on an article or post and $65 for contacting a media source.
    If those are typical prices, I'm clearly in the wrong business.

  9. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by r3volution 3.0 View Post
    If those are typical prices, I'm clearly in the wrong business.
    How much are you being paid?



  10. Remove this section of ads by registering.
  11. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by acptulsa View Post
    We know. But the rest of us got real jobs. That way, we can promote liberty for free without getting fired.

    You three ought to try it.

    When I got to the "promote liberty" part of his post I just laughed and laughed. I'm ok now but it was a close call. Almost passed out from lack of oxygen.
    Chris

    "Government ... does not exist of necessity, but rather by virtue of a tragic, almost comical combination of klutzy, opportunistic terrorism against sitting ducks whom it pretends to shelter, plus our childish phobia of responsibility, praying to be exempted from the hard reality of life on life's terms." Wolf DeVoon

    "...Make America Great Again. I'm interested in making American FREE again. Then the greatness will come automatically."Ron Paul

  12. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by CCTelander View Post
    When I got to the "promote liberty" part of his post I just laughed and laughed. I'm ok now but it was a close call. Almost passed out from lack of oxygen.
    Is that satire?

  13. #11
    Where are the mods, how does zippy get away with promoting this outright?

  14. #12
    ...and I thought this was a zippy 'coming out' thread.....

  15. #13
    Banned


    Blog Entries
    1
    Posts
    7,273
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    I will not believe this until it is confirmed by at least 17 intelligence agencies.

  16. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by Stratovarious View Post
    ...and I thought this was a zippy 'coming out' thread.....
    ^^
    ^
    "He's talkin' to his gut like it's a person!!" -me
    "dumpster diving isn't professional." - angelatc
    "You don't need a medical degree to spot obvious bullshit, that's actually a separate skill." -Scott Adams
    "When you are divided, and angry, and controlled, you target those 'different' from you, not those responsible [controllers]" -Q

    "Each of us must choose which course of action we should take: education, conventional political action, or even peaceful civil disobedience to bring about necessary changes. But let it not be said that we did nothing." - Ron Paul

    "Paul said "the wave of the future" is a coalition of anti-authoritarian progressive Democrats and libertarian Republicans in Congress opposed to domestic surveillance, opposed to starting new wars and in favor of ending the so-called War on Drugs."

  17. #15
    $8 for a social media post...
    Only $40,000 for three years' work? And do they bribe Bryan to refrain from banning you, or does that come out of your net?
    Quote Originally Posted by Swordsmyth View Post
    We believe our lying eyes...

  18. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by UWDude View Post
    I will not believe this until it is confirmed by at least 17 intelligence agencies.
    Screw that. I want all the intelligence agencies to confirm it.
    "Perhaps one of the most important accomplishments of my administration is minding my own business."

    Calvin Coolidge



  19. Remove this section of ads by registering.
  20. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by Zippyjuan View Post
    Maybe I should contact them. Can Swordmyth get me a reference perhaps? Is this who you use?

    https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/securit...ional-n1060781
    I guess that you can reference many forum members over here, who can recommend you as an exceptional troll!
    I don't know if you have to be Jewish, but supporting Zionism is certainly necessary if you want to join @Swordsmyth or Act.IL.
    The following shows how online trolls are controlled through an app.


    Act.IL was developed to curb online outrage over Israel’s 2014 war against Palestinians in Gaza. According to a UN report, 2,251 Palestinians were killed, including 1,462 civilians; 67 Israeli soldiers and 6 Israeli civilians also died.
    Hundreds of Israeli students joined a digital “war room” to spam social media with pro-Israel content.
    Expert Katie Joseff said the governments of Ecuador, Russia, Turkey, and the Philippines have used similar methods to spread propaganda.

    The smartphone app and website Act.IL was developed by former Israeli intelligence officers in collaboration with the Israeli government. The founder and CEO of Act.IL, Yarden Ben Yosef, is a former army intelligence officer who is in regular contact with the country's military and intelligence establishment. Act.IL is largely staffed by former intelligence officers.
    Once logged in to Act.IL, users are presented with a series of “missions” they can take part in to "get cool prizes”.

    In early August, Israel carried out airstrikes in the Gaza Strip. This was followed by an online campaign, on dozens of prominent media outlets, organized through Act.IL with financial backing from the main Republican funder Sheldon Adelson.
    The mission following the August airstrikes on Gaza asked users to “take action for Israel” by liking comments on the Facebook pages of 24 international news outlets so that they become the top comments, “the first ones that readers see!”.


    After a user posted similar comments on the Facebook pages of CNN International, Canada’s Global News, Iran’s PressTV, and Nigeria’s Channels Television; Act.IL online trolls made hers among the most-liked comments on all 5 news organisations’ Facebook posts.
    Nancy Saada got the top comment on the New York Times page and several others. Several of these comments are from current employees of Act.IL, paid astroturfers.

    After Lana Del Rey said she would perform in Israel despite objections from Palestinian activists, Act.IL users supported her online. When about a month later she cancelled the performance, a new mission encouraged Act.IL users to like a Facebook comment that expressed disappointment that the performance had been politicised.

    In July, after the Israeli parliament passed the racist “nation state” law, Palestinian-American student Hamzeh Daoud, posted an angry Facebook status in which he physically threatened Zionists who praised Israel. Act.IL encouraged its users to post online and send letters to send to his university leaders to get the student fired.
    In another instance earlier this year, the Act.IL app joined an effort against student leaders at George Washington University who voted in favour of a resolution that called for a boycott of companies that do business in Israel. Act.IL directed people to a Facebook page that showed the names of students who had voted in favour of the boycott, so they could be harassed: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article...rael-palestine
    Do NOT ever read my posts. Google and Yahoo wouldn’t block them without a very good reason: Google-censors-the-world/page3

    The Order of the Garter rules the world: Order of the Garter and the Carolingian dynasty

  21. #18
    Who would have guessed that the Trump supporter that makes 40 posts a day on average is part of a brainwashing institute that demands that its followers do a 1 year task to further the Mormon agenda (the Latter Day Saints church)?
    Quote Originally Posted by Swordsmyth View Post
    I don't believe he is and as a Mormon I'm grateful for that.
    But he may be part of the criminal enterprise that some of our leaders may be associated with.
    Do NOT ever read my posts. Google and Yahoo wouldn’t block them without a very good reason: Google-censors-the-world/page3

    The Order of the Garter rules the world: Order of the Garter and the Carolingian dynasty

  22. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by Firestarter View Post
    Who would have guessed that the Trump supporter that makes 40 posts a day on average is part of a brainwashing institute that demands that its followers do a 1 year task to further the Mormon agenda (the Latter Day Saints church)?
    I make no secret of my religion and I have mentioned it many times, I also have made it clear that I disagree with much heresy and corruption in the church.

    Take your bigotry elsewhere along with your support for Che and O'Bummer's Waters of the United States tyranny.
    Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

    Robert Heinlein

    Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler

    Groucho Marx

    I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.

    Linus, from the Peanuts comic

    You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith

    Alexis de Torqueville

    Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
    Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it

    A Zero Hedge comment

  23. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by Firestarter View Post
    Who would have guessed that the Trump supporter that makes 40 posts a day on average is part of a brainwashing institute that demands that its followers do a 1 year task to further the Mormon agenda (the Latter Day Saints church)?
    Dude- I am usually in total support of your posts & think I've agreed with Swordsmyth once- BUT, that said -

    Mormons are some of the best people I know- they are always 1st responders, they give millions to the needy & are the Helping Hands world-wide. Mormons are also a captured people, like the Indians- the difference being that the Indians know it & most Mormons don't. They left the US & came to Utah to be free but the Mexican/American war ended that & they were taken over by the Feds & forced to change their religion & go into "public education" to de-indoctrinate them. They then became the perfect "yes" men.

    Leaders have been helping keep Mormons safe & alive for the past 100+ years- you could legally kill a Mormon in Missouri until 1976. Right now, their leaders are starting to pull them out of The Matrix they've been in for so long, and it is phenomenal.

    So- you don't have to like them or believe me but keep the hate in the Religion forum, por favor.
    There is no spoon.

  24. #21
    On an unrelated note, while back had read some shocking claims that MAGA's tariffs tweets were profiteering insiders and allies at Wall Street but such allegation remain unproven by factual evidence. Also, SEC would have thrwon red flags already if that were really the case. SEC chiefs are not politically appointed to ensure that no political swampy hanky panky takes place.



Similar Threads

  1. Replies: 0
    Last Post: 08-16-2011, 07:00 PM
  2. 'Trolling'
    By Proctor in forum Super Tuesday
    Replies: 26
    Last Post: 02-06-2008, 05:57 PM
  3. OK The trolling is over the top!
    By Sandra in forum Bad Media Reporting on Ron Paul
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 01-12-2008, 09:37 PM
  4. Fox is Trolling Us - Think About It.
    By Tidewise in forum Fox Boycott
    Replies: 53
    Last Post: 12-29-2007, 01:17 AM
  5. PollM still trolling here...
    By Pharoah in forum Grassroots Central
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 12-18-2007, 07:47 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •